Newburyport ArtWalk — Nov. 4, 11–6pm
OPENING RECEPTION – MEET THE ARTIST – 1–6PM
light refreshments will be served
25L Inn Street — Newburyport, MA
978-465-7656
This show runs from November 1 – December 3
Born in Rio de Janeiro to a French mother and a Portuguese father, both working in the printing and publishing industry, Vincent Lemonnier Ferro followed his family to Paris at the age of 11 and lived in some of the prettiest areas of Paris for 25 years.
His fascination for Photography started around that age with a strong focus on Paris “street photography”, quickly influenced by Cartier-Bresson, Kertesz and Brassaï. He developed skills in darkroom printing techniques, and made a point to quickly install a darkroom wherever he lived throughout the years.
He wanted to capture what he loved about Paris, but it’s hard to photograph the place where you live. “I was not interested in photographing the immediacy of the objects in front of me and the people rushing to work, but instead, to capture the very substance of the city.” He started using a camera from the 40s that had belonged to his grandfather, and remembers the first print that emerged from the chemical baths in his darkroom in 1997; an image was slowly forming under his eyes that he could not recognize at first: a beautiful view of the Seine appearing through a tinted window. “I had the print Man Strolling along the Seine, with Dog still wet in my hands, and I was perplexed at how this photograph, taken a couple of days before, could look so old and profound to my eyes. I stood frozen in my darkroom with a large smile across my face and water drops still coming out of the print. A door had opened. It was a magical moment. I had found a way to reveal the latent images I wanted to show!
Full of regained energy, he started a quest for over 2 years, going scrupulously every week to the same spots he had chosen for his project. He also decided to minimize the number of signs that could reveal the age of some photographs, leaving them in the background, or avoiding them altogether. His new photographs had now a certain patina; they looked more composed, much better balanced, prettier, more interesting. Closer to the very substance he had been wanting to capture of his town, Paris.
“I am very happy to be presenting this almost timeless body of work that I called “Time in Paris” at the Sweethaven Gallery; with this show a new era is opening for these photographs.”
In 1999, a Software company invited Vincent to join their New York offices, but he eventually moved to Newburyport, where he lives today.
Vincent has exhibited in public locations in Paris and London, and in Newburyport at The Firehouse Center for the Arts in 2016.